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Prom dresses sought for special project

Marcia Botu, from left; Missy Hall and Sandi Hunsuckle with some of the prom dresses which will be provided to high school girls this season. Photo by ANNE C. HEYMEN, anne.heymen@staugustine.com

Several years ago a young lady from Putnam County was invited to her school prom. She wanted to attend but knew she couldn’t afford the expenses associated with the event. She was faced with a big problem.

If she told the boy who invited her she wished she could go but couldn’t afford it, he might think that she didn’t like him, and that wasn’t the truth.

Thanks to the ladies of St. James United Methodist Church, Palatka, that young lady’s dream of the prom became a reality. The St. James women’s group found her the perfect dress and everything else she needed for her special evening.

“She found a beautiful dress. It fit her perfectly. By the time she walked out she said she felt like a queen,” recalls Sandi Hunsuckle, who worked with the Palatka program for eight or nine years.

Now a member of the First United Methodist Church of St. Augustine, Hunsuckle and other members of the Friendship Circle of First Methodist’s United Methodist Women’s group, are introducing the program in St. Johns County.

Missy Hall and Marcia Botu, two, members of the 20-member Friendship Circle, are working with Hunsuckle on the project.

April 27 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the church, corner of Riberia and King streets, girls from St. Augustine and Pedro Menendez high schools can be outfitted from head to toe in the perfect prom outfit.

“We’re just targeting these two schools,” Hunsuckle explains, “but if someone from another high school calls us, we won’t turn them down.”

The SAHS prom is May 10, and the Pedro Menendez dance is May 17. and girls who wish to participate in the program must make an appointment by calling Hunsuckle at 806-1426. Also girls coming to the church for the program on April 27 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Anyone wishing to donate a gown is also invited to call Hunsuckle or bring it to First Methodist from 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays.

All sizes from 0 up to 18 to 20 are welcomed,

Complete outfit

But it doesn’t stop with the dresses.

Members of the Friendship Circle welcome donations of shoes, evening bags, jewelry and other items to make prom night the perfect night for these girls.

“And we’re looking for a Mary Kay representative to help with makeup,” says Hunsuckle, and hairdressers to either donate their time or gift certificates for hair and nails.

When Hunsuckle proposed the project to her church circle, Hall and Botu met the idea with enthusiasm. The next step was the approval from the church board.

“Yes!” was Hall’s response, she said when Hunsuckle outlined the program. Hall recalled an occasion when she was involved with the Early Literacy Program in Tennessee, and, at the program’s conclusion, asked her students how they’d like to celebrate. “Without exception,” says Hall, the participants, ages 16 to 40, wanted to have a prom. “They’d never been to a prom. So we put a prom on for them.”

The prom project, Hunsuckle admits, is not like feeding world hunger or helping world peace, “but it’s important” to the young high school girls.

Like Hunsuckle, Hall and Botu have fond memories of the proms they attended.

“Oh yeah,” said Hall, “except for the time I fell off the chair.” Apparently she missed her chair, and sunk — hopefully gracefully — to the floor. It was particularly embarrassing, she admits, because she was a freshman attending the prom with an upperclassman.

“We’re hoping to have all the girls who come feel like a princess,” Hunsuckle concludes.

There is no charge to participate, and the girls will keep everything provided for their special night.

The goal is to have 20 to 25 gowns donated, and what isn’t distributed this year will be used to begin the 2014 program.

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About the project

What: Dresses for the prom to be supplied for young ladies in need at St. Augustine and Pedro Menendez High School.

When: April 27 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, corner of King and Riberia streets.

Requirements: Appointments are necessary. Call Sandi Hunsuckle, 806-1426. A parent or guardian must accompany the young lady to the church on April 27.

Needed: 20 to 25 prom dress of all sizes from 0 to 20.

Also needed: Evening bags, shoes, jewelry and volunteers to do makeup and hair styling and nails.

Bring donations to First Methodist between 9 a.m. and noon Fridays or call Hunsuckle at 806-1426.

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What about the guys?

The Friendship Circle of First United Methodist Church is helping outfit young ladies for the prom, but what about the young men?

Sandi Hunsuckle, Missy Hall and Marcia Botu, working on the project for their circle — part of the United Methodist Women — are issuing a challenge to men’s groups to step up.

“If a men’s group wants to do something similar for the boys, I’ll be glad to help them organize it,” says Hunsuckle. Just give her a call at 806-1426.

And Hall suggest that a project for a men’s club might be to accept donations so boys can rent a tux for the prom.